Vacations (band)
Australian indie rock band
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vacations is an Australian indie rock band formed in 2015 in Newcastle. The group consists of lead songwriter and vocalist Campbell Burns, bassist Jake Johnson, lead guitarist Nate Delizzotti and drummer Joseph Van Lier.[5] Esquire called Vacations "Australia's Greatest Boy Band."[[6]
Vacations | |
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| Origin | Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Labels |
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| Members |
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| Website | vacationsband |
Vacations curated the 2024 festival MATES, held in Los Angeles, featuring Puma Blue, Claud, Yot Club, Ian Sweet, Kacy Hill, Jaguar Jonze, and Waax.[7][8] Vacations have performed at festivals like 2025's Harvest Rock BottleRock, Kilby Block Party,[9] 2024's Portside Festival, Outlandia Festival, London Calling, 2023's All Things Go, All Points East,[10] 2022's Austin City Limits,[11] and in 2018, SXSW.[12]
History
Formation and early history
After leaving Newcastle High School, Burns began writing and recording "sad boy songs" and posting them to his Tumblr account. His friend Jake Johnson heard the tracks and the two started creating music alongside Nate Delizzotti and Joseph Van Lier, forming Vacations in 2015.[13]
They describe their sound as "woozy guitar pop", combining indie pop with elements of jangle and lo-fi.[14] With the release of their EPs, Days in 2015 and Vibes in 2016, Vacations started gaining a following on SoundCloud and YouTube.
Changes (2016–2022)
In 2018, they released their debut studio album Changes. The single "Telephones" is certified Platinum in the US. The band recorded and published their first two EP's and their debut studio album by themselves with no management nor PR. Their sophomore album, Forever in Bloom, was released in 2020.[15][16][17]
In April 2022, their single "Young" from 2016 went viral from a TikTok trend, when fans used the song to soundtrack scenes from series Skins, featuring the character Cassie.[18] "Young" was certified gold in the United States, Canada and Poland.[19] It has over 420 million streams as of June 2023 and placed the band on Australia's most-played artists on Spotify.[20]
No Place Like Home (2023-present)
In mid-2023, Burns moved to Los Angeles, saying that "[t]here's a lot more going on in the [United] States for the band right now compared to Australia". The move as well as his diagnosis with obsessive–compulsive disorder, influenced the themes of the band's third studio album, No Place Like Home, released in January 2024.[21][22][23]
In 2024, Vacations was named as one of Pandora's "Artists to Watch" in the rock category. They made their American television debut on CBS Morning's Saturday Sessions in 2024, performing "Next Exit" and a few weeks later, on Jimmy Kimmel Live.[24] "Next Exit" has 2.6 million views on YouTube.[25] Vacations performed "Midwest" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.[26]
In May 2026, the group announced their fourth studio album Pursuit of Anything will be released in October 2026.[27]
Discography
| Title | Album details |
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| Changes |
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| Forever in Bloom |
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| No Place Like Home |
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| Pursuit of Anything |
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| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Days |
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| Vibes |
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| Vacations on Audiotree Live |
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Awards and nominations
Rolling Stone Australia Awards
The Rolling Stone Australia Awards are awarded annually by the Australian edition of Rolling Stone magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Vacations | Rolling Stone Global Award | Nominated | [33] |